A Brief
History: Vietnam.Military Working Dogs have been used by the U.S. Military since WW I.

The dogs were originally enlisted by the Quartermaster Corps, and adiversity of breeds where accepted

Once
knowledge and experience was gained the dogs of choice became the German Shepherd Dog and the Doberman. Due to the nature
of work to be accomplished the Labrador eventually replaced the Doberman.

The German Shepherd remained the most frequently used
dog. These dogs arecommonly referred to as War Dogs; however,
the correct term is Military

Working Dogs. They have saved
countless lives and casualties since thebeginning of their Military
Service and they continue to do so today.

Dogs
of Vietnam/Brief History:There is a confirmed list of 3,747
dogs that were used in Vietnamidentified by Dr. Howard Hayes, Veterinarian (RET) of the NationalInstitute of Health as of March 1994, by "brand number" (a tattoo usually placedin the left ear of the dog). However,
it is estimated that approximately4,900 dogs where used during
the course of the war between 1964 and 1975.Records of the dogs
in Vietnam where not maintained by the military prior to1968, thus the discrepancy.

How Many Dogs Returned Home?

Only 204 dogs exited Vietnam during the 10-year period. Someremained in the Pacific, and some returned to the United States. None returned tocivilian life. So what happened to the dogs that remained? Most whereeuthanized and the others where turned over to the ARVN (South VietnameseArmy).

How Many Handlers Served
in Vietnam and what Branch of Service?All four branches of the military used dogs in Vietnam.Approximately 10,000 handlers served. Vietnam was the largest concentrated effort ofthe use of dogs and handlers in any Combat Era the United States has everundertaken. It is estimated that the dogs and handlers saved over 10,000 lives.

The following is a breakdown of handlers by Military Branch thatserved in Vietnam. 65%Army 26%Air Force 7%Marine 2%Navy.

What Mission (duties) did
the Dogs and Handlers Have in Vietnam?

Scout
Dogs

A Scout Dog Team
consisted of one German Shepherd and the handler.Whenrequested
the Scout Dog Team joined an infantry unit and served astheir"eyes
and ears". The Scout Dog Team walked "point" (out front) for theunit,
looking for booby trap trip wires, ambushes, hidden caches of food orweapons, snipers etc. When the dog alerted, the handler passed theinformation to the patrol leader who then moved his troops forward.

Scout dogs and handlers where trained at Ft. Benning,
Ga. Some Scout Doghandlers were trained "In-Country" (OJT) or were originally trained as Trackerhandlers.)

Combat
Tracker Teams (CTT:

The
Tracker Team consisted of a Labrador Retriever (SometimesShepherds)
and handler, a cover man, a Visual Tracker and a Team Leader. Trackerswere called to duty when the unit wished to re-establish contact with theenemy.Tracker teams acted much like the old Indian Scouts
(except for theuse of the dogs). They were called upon to "track"
either visually or byusing a Labrador Retriever to follow ground
(blood trails, body odor etc.) orairborne scent in order to locate
missing personnel, i.e., downed pilots,wounded GI's, or the enemy.
The Majority of Combat Trackers andTracker Dogs were trained
in Malaysia at the BritishJungleWarfareSchool (JWS) orat Ft. Gordon, Ga. in the U.S.

Sentry Dog Teams:

Sentry Dog Teams were universal within every branch of the U.S.Armed Forces in Vietnam to include the Air Force in Thailand; and werenormally an arm of Military Police Units (All Branches had police units-they just lcalthem different names). Sentry Dog Teams, "walked the wire" on the outskirtsof a location and their primary form of communication was via radioafter the dog alerted. Back up to the team was a tower or bunker guard, aquick response team, or getting illumination (flares). Sentry Dog Teams (K9]were comprised of one German Shepherd and one handler and generally worked atnight (about 99%). Their mission was to "Detect, Detain, and Destroy.

Sentry Dog Teams were the first line of defense on the perimeter of not only Bases in Vietnam but
also ammo depots, supply areas, communications areas, > naval installations, camps, flight lines, and other sensitive areas.

The majority of Sentry Dog handlers and Sentry Dogs were trained atLackland Air Force Base, TX.

[All
branches), however, some were trained in Showa(Tachikawa), Japan, and many handlers were trained "In-Country- (OJT)

Mine/Booby/Tunnel Dog Teams:

The Team was one German Shepherd and a handler
in support of infantryand combat engineer operations (Army and
Marines). The mission was todetect mines, booby-traps, trip wires,
tunnel compiles and any other casualtyproducing devices. They
also assisted in searching villages or suspectedareas of enemy
built up supplies, weapons and ammunition.